Monday

The Senate Committee on Environment and Agriculture will consider legislation Wednesday that would curtail the use of plastic straws in restaurants.

PROVIDENCE — The Senate Committee on Environment and Agriculture will consider legislation Wednesday that would curtail the use of plastic straws in restaurants.

The committee is scheduled to vote on a bill introduced by Senate Majority Leader Michael J. McCaffrey, D-Warwick, that would prohibit a food service establishment from providing a consumer with a single-use plastic straw, unless the straw is from a self-service dispenser or the consumer requests such a straw. The meeting will take place at 5 p.m. in Room 211 on the second floor of the Statehouse.

The Senate Committee on Environment and Agriculture is chaired by Sen. V. Susan Sosnowski, D-South Kingstown, New Shoreham.

The initiative to move away from plastic straws and stirrers has become popular on Aquidneck Island in the past two years. Thanks to initiatives like Strawless by the Sea, organized by Clean Ocean Access, The Last Straw and Green Drinks Newport, more than 30 local restaurants have done away with plastic straws.

The Strawless by the Sea website says that in Newport plastic straws are among the top 10 items found during beach clean ups. The website also says Clean Ocean Access has removed over 2,000 straws from the beaches in the past five years, with the Newport Harbor trash skimmer picking up 650 in the past eight months.

A similar bill banning foam containers was recently introduced by Rep. David Bennett, D-Warwick, chairman of the House Environment and Natural Resources Committee. The legislation would ban Rhode Island food service establishments from using disposable polystyrene foam containers and plastic stirrers.

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